Arindam Dey, RSS, Qip-Stc Gepd 2014

QIP-Short Term Course
QIP-
Geotechnical Engineering Practices and Developments
6th 10th January, 2014, IIT Guwahati
Arindam Dey
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering Division
IIT Guwahati
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Etymology
Reinforce
Latin origin
Rinforzare to reinforce, to strengthen (verb)
Forza strength
Mainly of military use
Soldier to the Command: Sir, we are falling apart, send us reinforcements
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Reinforced Soil Structures
Reinforced retaining walls

Reinforced embankments
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Reinforced foundation beds
Reinforced pavement and

railway subgrades
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Fiber reinforcement
Rock bolting
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Various forms of reinforced soil structures
Soil nailing Earth anchors

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Reinforced Soil
Reinforced Soil Soil
Composite material Reinforced Soil
Tension
Soil Resistant
Cohesionless soils Elements
Mostly with frictional characteristics having good compression behavior
Poor/No tension behavior
Cohesive soils
Exhibit some tension resistance due to the cohesive bond (e.g. vertical cuts up to some
height can stand without any support)
Large height of vertical or near-vertical cuts requires to be reinforced
Tension resistant elements
Form - Sheet, strips, nets, or mats
Composition - Metal, synthetic fibres, or fibre-reinforced plastics
Main purpose
Reduction or suppression of tensile strain developed due to gravity or boundary forces
Orientation Direction of tensile strains
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Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Beaver Dams
Mud reinforced with grasses, tree trunks, and stones
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Ziggurats of Mesopotamia
Constructed of clay bricks
Reinforcement
Mats of woven reeds
Plaited ropes
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Great wall of China
Sections in eastern China
Bricks and chiseled stones
Sections in western China
Clay or pounded earth reinforced with tree branches
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Inca, Maya and Aztec structures
Adobe bricks
Blocks of mud embedded with straw having good tensile strength
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Soil Reinforcement: Modern Day Construction

Swami Narain Temple, Tithal Gujarat
Stone-filled rope gabions for shoreline stabilization
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Soil Reinforcement: Modern Day Construction

Widening of narrow road stretch at Vijaywada
22m high geosynthetic reinforced retaining walls
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Soil Reinforcement: Reinvention

Henri Vidal (1963)
Coined the term Reinforced Earth (La Terre Armee)
Accidental invention while playing with children in beach building wet-
sand houses
Patent in 1963
Concept used superfluous in reinforced retaining walls
Steel strips and steel membrane facing
Vidal, H. (1966) La Terre Armee Annuls de Institue Technique du

Batiments et des Travaux Publics, Paris, France
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Soil Reinforcement: Novel Charactertistics

Prefabricated elements
Precast skin units or panels
Reinforcing strips, sheets or nets
Easily handled, stored and assembled
Flexible nature of reinforced earth mass

Withstand large differential settlement without distress
Permits construction of geotechnical structures on poor and

difficult subsoil conditions
Economical
25-50% saving in cost (Schlosser and Long, 1974; Jones, 1985)
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Portrayal of Basic Mechanism

Primarily developed for cohesionless soils
Carries tensile stress
Suppression of anisotropic lateral suppression or strain
Cohesion
Bond between adjacent particles
Electro-static forces
Cementation
Prohibits free movement
Results in increased shear strength
Concept of pseudo-cohesion (Vidal, 1978)
Particles are tied to each other
The tie provides a pseudo-bond between the particles
Result in enhanced shear strength
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Portrayal of Basic Mechanism

Rankines stress state theory
Anisotropic stress
Prevention of failure of the soil element
Increase 3
Decrease lateral deformation
Place a reinforcement in the direction of 3
Interaction of soil and reinforcement
Develops friction forces along the reinforcement
Tensile force - Integration of the frictional forces
Inhibit free lateral expansion of soil element
Generation of compression forces
Development of the mobilization of tensile stress
is governed by the condition of associated
slippage
A hypothetical plate boundary to prevent lateral
expansion
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Components of Reinforced Soil

Reinforced
Soil
Soil or Fill Facing

Reinforcement
Matrix (optional)
Local soil Steel Strips Steel Wrap
Borrowed soil Aluminium Grids Aluminium Modular
Suitability of the soil Rubber Sheets Rubber Block
for reinforced soil Concrete Continuous
structure Concrete Mats
Glass Ropes Glass
Fibre-wood Fibre-wood
Thermoplastics Thermoplastics
Bricks
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Soil or Fill Matrix

Choice of fill matrix
Type of structure
Stability conditions
Short-term (constructional) or long-term (post-constructional) stability
Physico-chemical properties of material
Economy
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Soil or Fill Matrix

Choice of cohesionless soil in reinforced soil structure
Densely compacted soil is preferable Why?
Higher volumetric expansion during shear Enhanced dilatancy
Higher friction strength mobilization at soil-reinforcement interface
Soils having higher void ratio are well drained Advantage?

Effective normal stress transfer at soil-reinforcement interface is immediate
Negligible lag between vertical loading and shear stress transfer
Behavior is mostly elastic under working load conditions Advantage?

Negligible post-construction movement due to internal yielding and re-
adjustment of particles
Internal yielding of soil is mostly associated with plastic behavior
Non-corrosive to reinforcing materials

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Soil or Fill Matrix

Choice cohesive soil in reinforced soil structure
Poorly drained Disadvantage?
Excess pore-pressure during construction phase results in short-term
instability
No frictional component in the soil Disadvantage?

Soil-reinforcement interface adhesion is independent of vertical load
Increasing the height of the structure does not aid in added strength
mobilization
Behavior is elasto-plastic or plastic Disadvantage?

Enhanced probability of post-construction movement and creep deformation
Corrosive towards reinforcing materials

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Soil or Fill Matrix

Local c- soil in reinforced soil structure
Compromise between a pure cohesionless and cohesive soils
Benefits of cohesionless soils
Economic availability of cohesive soils
Minimum specification for the fill soil (US DOT, 1978)

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Reinforcement
Strip reinforcement
Flexible linear elements
Thickness : 3-9 mm
Breadth : 40-120 mm
Plain, grooved or ribbed
Materials
Metals
Galvanized steel
Aluminum-Magnesium alloy
Chrome Stainless steel
Check for durability against corrosion
Bamboo
Polymers
Glass-fibre reinforced plastics
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Reinforcement
Grid reinforcement
Flexible elements made up of transverse and longitudinal members
Transverse member run parallel to the face or free-edge of the structure
Act as anchors and passive reinforcements
Stiffer than the longitudinal members
Longitudinal members
High modulus of elasticity and not susceptible to creep
Materials
Metals
Punched Polymers Geogrids
Uniaxial Reinforced retaining wall
Biaxial Foundation beds
Railways and roadway subgrade
Embankment foundations
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Reinforcement
Grid reinforcement
Manufacturing of polymer geogrids
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Reinforcement
Sheet reinforcement
Galvanized steel, textile fabric or expanded metal
Geotextiles Textile fabrics
Most common nowadays
Porous
Permeability in the range of coarse gravel to fine sand
Manufacturing
Woven from continuous monofilament fibers
Non-woven Staple fibers laid in random pattern and mechanically entangled
Fibers may be bonded or interlocked
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Reinforcement
Anchor reinforcement
Flexible linear elements with distortions at the end
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Facing
Facing in reinforced soil structures
Required for vertical or near-vertical structures
Main purpose
Retains the soil between the reinforcement in the immediate vicinity to the
edge of the structure
Does not affect the overall stability of the structure
Affect the local stability
Should be able to adopt to deformations without distortions and introduction
of stresses
Materials
Galvanized steel, Stainless steel, Aluminium, Bricks, Precast concrete panels,
Precast concrete slabs, Geotextiles, Geogrids, Plastics, Glass-reinforced
plastics, Timber
Metal and precast concrete panels are mostly used
Ease in handling and assembling
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Facing
Metal facing
Mild steel, Galvanized steel or Aluminum
Same property as the reinforcement strips
Facing is semi-elliptical
Continuous horizontal joint along one edge
Holes are provided for bolting of reinforcing elements
Very flexible
Can adapt to significant deformation
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Facing
Concrete Panel Facing
Cruciform shaped
Vertical dowel-groove system to accommodate other adjacent panels
Dowels allow for restricted lateral and rotational movement
Renders the entire facing structure as flexible
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Facing
Concrete Panel Facing
Various architectural forms are created
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Strength Characteristics: Reinforced Earth

Behavior of reinforced earth and
determination of strength characteristics
Static Triaxial Compression test
Soil samples are reinforced with discs or rings
or fibers of metallic or non-metallic materials
Loaded to failure under different confining

pressures
Furnish
Stress-strain characteristics of reinforced earth
Strength envelope for reinforced soil
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Basic Concept
Strength of reinforced soil [Schlosser 1
and Long (1978)] Sz
Two-dimensional element of cohesionless soil A B
( Angle of internal friction) E
Reinforcement layers at vertical spacing Sz b
3 3
Subjected to a confining pressure of 3 F
Vertical stress of magnitude 1 is applied D C

and increased to failure
1
Linear wedge (FE of length b) failure
assumed to take place at an angle with the
vertical
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Reinforcement Failures
Two types of failure
1
Rupture of reinforcement
Governed by the tensile capacity of reinforcement
per unit length (RT) G E
Maximum tensile force generated at the verge of 3
rupture of reinforcement
b T
R .b cos
T = T No. of reinforcement
Sz
in the reinforced soil mass n
F
Slippage of reinforcement
Governed by the total friction force generated in
various layers of reinforcement at the verge of
failure Width of reinforcement (Strip reinforcements)
b cos
T = 2 1. f * .br
Friction force developed on one side Sz
of the reinforcement Coefficient of interface friction
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Reinforcement Failure: Rupture

1
Rupture failure of reinforcement
Relationship between vertical and
horizontal stress G E
3
1 = ( 3 + RT S z ) N N = tan 2 45 +
2 T
N Flow value of the soil mass

For an unreinforced c- soil, relation n
between the principal stresses F
1 = 3 N + 2c N Rupture failure of reinforcement

Shear strength envelopes of
unreinforced and reinforced
Analogically c = RT N soils are same (tan )
Sz
Additional strength is
Pseudo cohesion generated in a imparted by the reinforcement
cohesionless soil due to reinforcement as pseudo-cohesion (c)
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Reinforcement Failure: Sliding/Slippage

1
Sliding failure of reinforcement
G E
3 N
1 = = 3 N' 3
*
2br . f
1 . N T
Sz

No content of pseudo-cohesion n
F
Improvement in the internal friction
angle of reinforced soil
N' > N R >
Angle of internal friction of the

reinforced soil mass
N' = tan 2 ( 45 + R / 2 )
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Mohrs Circle Representation
Slippage Failure Rupture Failure

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Precedence of Failure
Which failure will prevail???
Slippage failure prevails
Total friction force generated due to interface friction < Total tensile capacity
of the reinforcements
3 N '
* b cos R .b cos 1 = = N
3
2 1. f .br < T *
2br . f
Sz Sz 1 . N
Sz
2b . f *
RT . 1 r N
Sz
3 <
2br . f * . N
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Precedence of Failure
Slippage Failure
Rupture Failure
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Behavior of Reinforcement
Negligible
Overburden
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Significant
Overburden
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Excessive
Overburden
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Stress-Strain Behavior
Rupture failure
Well defined peak deviator stress
Diminished failure strain compared to
unreinforced soil
Governed by tensile strength of
reinforcement
Failure is catastrophic
Slippage failure
No well defined peak
Failure behavior is ductile similar to
unreinforced soil
Governed by soil-reinforcement interface Talwar (1981)
friction
Failure is progressive
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Strength Envelope
Rupture failure
Exhibiting cohesion intercept
Strength envelope parallel to unreinforced soil
Slippage failure
Enhancement of friction angle with no cohesion
Talwar (1981)
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Example Problem
Series of triaxial tests
Records at failure
Confining Deviator stress
pressure (
( 3) (1-3)
(kPa) (kPa)
20 950
60 1600
145 2100
250 2450
375 2950
500 3400
Determine the strength properties

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Example Problem
Unreinforced Soil 2 = 30.2

= 38 , c = 0
RUPTURE
2 = 35.6 , c2 = 320kPa
2: Nominal Change
1 = 40.7 c c2: Significant Change
1 = 59.3 , c1 = 78.4kPa
1: Significant Change
d2 = 260 kPa SLIPPAGE
c c1: Nominal Change
d1 = 40 kPa
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Soil-Reinforcement Interface Friction

Friction between reinforcement and surrounding soil
Transfers the traction forces developed within the soil to the
reinforcement
Generates the apparent cohesion in the composite mass which further
develops the proportional reinforcement tension
Tests to determine soil-reinforcement interface friction

Sliding shear test
Use of a direct shear box
Akin to kinetic or rolling friction condition
Pull-out test
Use of reinforcement buried in embankment soil or reinforced soil wall
Pull-out apparatus
Akin to static condition
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Sliding Shear Test

Kinetic or rolling friction condition
Soil movement
Minimum at the interface
Soil movement restrained by reinforcement
Increases with distance from the reinforcement
Soil mass is moving/sliding over the
reinforcement
Footing resting on dense sand
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Sliding Shear Test and Interface Friction

Laboratory experimentation on reinforced soil
Reinforcement pasted on wooden forming the lower half of the shear box
Upper half of box is filled with soil at desired density
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Sliding Shear Test and Interface Friction

Laboratory experimentation on reinforced soil
Coefficient and Angle of interface friction
= f n = tan
Experiment with strip reinforcement

Bamboo reinforcements (Khan, 1991)
depends on direction of shearing
Transverse shear results in higher
Passive resistance due to particle interlocking
Geogrids reinforcements
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Pullout Test
Functioning of the apparatus
Soil mass is held static
Embedded reinforcement is pulled out from the soil mass
Soil movement
Maximum at the interface
Soil is moving with the reinforcement
Minimum at the farthest from the reinforcement
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Pullout Test
T
f* =
Coefficient of apparent friction 2 v LW
T Pullout force
v Normal pressure intensity at reinforcement strip level = z +q
q Additional surcharge, Unit weight of soil, z Depth of reinforcing
strip below soil surface
L, W Length and Width of the reinforcing strip
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Pullout Test and Pullout Friction

Application of pullout friction, f *
Footing resting on loose sandy stratum
Footing is punching through sandy stratum and reinforcements as well
Reinforced earth retaining walls
Reinforcements are pulled out from stationary soil mass
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Smooth vs. Ribbed Reinforcement

Coefficient of pullout friction (f *)
Surface of reinforcement (Schlosser and Elias, 1978)
Ribbed reinforcement produces higher apparent interface friction a
Additional force developed due to particle interlocking
At high displacements
Apparent friction coefficient
Smooth tan
Ribbed tan
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RDFS / Ply soil

Randomly Distributed Fiber Reinforced Soil
One of the latest ground improvement techniques
Fibers of desired type, quantity and configuration
Added to soil and mixed randomly
Laid in position after compaction
How is it different from other soil-reinforcing methods?
Strip, sheet or mat reinforcements / Soil nailing
Reinforcements are planar
Composite mass of anisotropic strength
Provides at least one surface of weak shear resistance
RDFS
Reinforcements are randomly distributed
Composite mass to achieve near isotropic strength increase
Strength content of the composite is more-or-less equal with respect to any
shearing direction
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Earlier Applications
Straws and plant roots to soil bricks
Aztec, Inca and Mayan civilizations
Without understanding the reinforcing mechanism
Soil mixed with Tamarisk branches

Great Wall of China
Clay-mud plaster
Soil mixed with wheat straws
Common in Indian villages
Plantation roots
Increase strength and stability of natural slopes
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Modern Application
Synthetic fibers
Use of polymeric fibers in various experimental investigations
Triaxial compression test
Unconfined compression test
Direct shear test
CBR test
Notable properties of RDFS

Greater extensibility
Small loss in post-peak strength
Isotropy in strength
Absence of a specific plane of weakness
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Strength of RDFS: General Findings

Bilinear shear strength envelope
(Gray and Ohashi, 1983)
Parallel to the unreinforced soil
envelope beyond a critical or
threshold normal stress
Below the critical value, the reinforced
soil shows higher friction angle Slip
zone
Beyond the critical value, the apparent
cohesion is experienced
Friction angle remains nearly same as
that if unreinforced soil
Apparent cohesion is manifested by n,crit
the particle interlocking or bond
between the soil and randomly
distributed reinforcements
Shear takes place nonlinearly between
the composite mass and unreinforced
portions of soil
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Strength of RDFS: Predictive Models

Gray and Ohashi (1983)
Orientation of fibers
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Assumption
Fiber induced tension originated due to extension of fiber
Fiber length, interface friction and confining pressure are large enough to
avoid pull-out failure
4E f f z
t = ( sec 1)
df
Fiber-induced tension
t Tensile stress within a single fiber
f Interface frictional resistance along the fiber
Ef Modulus of elasticity of fiber
df Diameter of fiber
Angle of internal friction of soil
z Thickness of shear zone
Waldron (1977)
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Mohr-Coulomb equation for unreinforced soil
S = c + n tan
S Shear strength of unreinforced soil
Contribution of root-fibers in modifying the shear

strength expression
S r = cr + nr tan
Sr, cr, nr Shear strength, cohesion and vertical stress for
unreinforced soil
has been assumed to be remaining constant
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Contribution of root-fibers in modifying the shear
strength expression S r = cr + nr tan
4E f f z
c + ar ( sec 1) .sin +
df

Sr =
4E f f z
ar ( sec 1) .cos . tan + n tan

df
ar fraction of shear cross-section filled by roots
Additional shear strength provided by the fibers
S r = t .ar ( sin + cos .tan )

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Ground Modification and Improvement Techniques

Various ground modification and improvement techniques
Mechanical stabilization
Vibration and rolling
Heavy tamping and compaction
Preloading and vertical drains
Chemical stabilization
Chemical binders and fasteners
Hydraulic Modification
Grouting
Soil reinforcement
Geosynthetics
Soil nails
Earth anchors
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Geosynthetics
A generic term
Prefix Geo
End use associated with improving the performance of civil engineering
works involving earth/ground/soil
Suffix synthetics
Materials are almost exclusively man-made
Natural fibers (Jute, cotton, wool, silk, hemp) are excluded
Polymeric materials
Polyester (PET)
Polypropylene (PP)
Very low density (VLDPE), Medium density (MDPE) and High Density (HDPE)
Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE)
Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE)
Polyamide (PA)
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
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Types of Geosynthetics
Geotextiles
Permeable polymeric textile products in the form
of flexible sheets
Categories
Woven geotextiles
Made of yarns (one or several fibers) by conventional
weaving process with regular textile structure
Non-woven geotextiles
Made from randomly oriented fibers into a loose web
with partial bonding
Knitted geotextiles
Produced by inter-looping of one or more yarns
Stitch-bonded geotextiles
Stitching together of fibers and yarns
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Geogrids
Polymeric mesh-like planar products formed by
intersecting elements, called ribs, and jointed at
the junctions
Categories
Depending upon the rib linkages
Bonded, Woven/Interlaced and Extruded geogrids
Uniaxial geogrids
Made by longitudinal stretching of regularly punched
polymer sheets
Higher tensile strength in the longitudinal direction
Biaxial geogrids
Made by both longitudinal and transverse stretchings
Equal tensile strength in both the directions
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Geogrids
Key feature
Presence of apertures Openings between the
longitudinal and transverse ribs
Large enough to create interlocking with the
surrounding particles
Shapes of apertures
Elongated ellipses
Near squares with rounded corners
Squares and/or rectangles
Aperture size
2.5 15 cm
Ribs are stiff compared to geotextile fibers
Junction strength has to be high to transmit the load
from one rib to the other
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Geonets
Extruded polymer meshes with a similar look as
geotextiles
Function is mainly for filtration and not as
reinforcement
Diamond shaped apertures
~12 mm long and 8 mm wide
Resulting angle 70 - 110
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Geomembranes
Continuous membrane type barrier/liner composed of materials of low
permeability to control fluid migration
Material is polymeric or asphaltic or combination of the two
Barrier When used inside an earth mass
Liner When it acts as a surface interface element
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Composite Geosynthetics
Geocomposites
Products that are manufactures in laminated or composite form made up
of two or more basic geosynthetics
Perform specific function which are to be satisfied more effectively than the
performance of each of them separately
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Other Geosynthetic Products

Geosynthetic clay liners
Used largely in landfill waste containment
Negligibly permeable soil sandwiched
between layers of geotextiles and filters
Geopipes
Effectively used as filter drains within dams
and embankment structures to transport the
seeping water
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Other Geosynthetic Products

Geocells
Three-dimensional polymeric assembled
structure and having special bodkin
couplings to form triangular or square cells
Geomats
A mat with very open structure made of
coarse and rigid filaments with tortuous
shape and bonded at the junctions
Used as netting in order to hole rockfall and
topples in hills
Konkan railway slope protection
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Basic Functions of Geosynthetics

Separation
Geosynthetic prevents intermixing of adjacent soil layers with different
properties
During construction and through the service period geosynthetic-reinforced
soil structure
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Reinforcement
Geosynthetic increases the strength of the soil mass
Maintains the stability of the soil mass against failure
Geosynthetic layer carries tensile loads
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Filtration
Geosynthetic allows for adequate flow of fluids across its plane while
preventing the migration of particles
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Drainage or Fluid transmission
Geosynthetic allows for adequate flow of fluids across its plane to
various water flow outlets
Geosynthetic provides the flow channel
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Moisture barrier
Geosynthetic acts as impermeable membrane and prevent the flow or
percolation of fluids
River canal linings made of geomembrane prevent the percolation of water
and hence reduces the water loss
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Other Functions of Geosynthetics

Protection
Geosynthetic is used as a localized stress reduction layer
Prevent damage to a given surface or layer
Cushion
Geosynthetic is used to control and dampen dynamic mechanical
vibrations
Canal revetments, shore protections, and us of geosynthetic strip layers as
seismic base isolators
Absorption
Assimilation of fluid into a geotextile (act as a blotting paper)
Water absorption in erosion control
Recovery of floating oil from surface water to prevent ecological disaster
Interlayer
Act as shear resistance enhancer between soil stratifications
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Primary Functions of Geosynthetics

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Primary Functions of Geosynthetics

Type of
Separation Reinforcement Filtration Drainage Containment
Geosynthetic
Geotextile
Geogrid
Geonet
Geomembrane
Geosynthetic

Clay Liner
Geopipe
Geofoam
Geocomposite
Geomat
Geocell
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Application of Geosynthetics
Improved subgrade or road-base performance
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Improved subsurface drainage
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Reinforcement of soils by geotextiles
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Erosion control by geotextiles
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Reservoir lining by geomembranes
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Containment by geosynthetic clay liners
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Railroad stabilization by geogrids
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Silt fence for sediment and erosion control in construction sites
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Enhanced pavement performance by geotextiles
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Improved drainage performance by geopipes
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Drainage property enhancement by geonets
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Bridge abutment backfilling using geofoams
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Geomats as separator, interface and surface protection layer
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Geocells for earth retention, slope stabilization and soil
reinforcement
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Gabions for earth retention and river bank protections
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Properties of Geotextiles
Main testing agencies
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
International Standardization Organization (ISO)
Properties tested
Physical properties
Mechanical properties
Hydraulic properties
Endurance properties
Degradation properties
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Physical Properties of Geotextiles

Specific Gravity (ASTM D792 and D1505)
Specific gravity of the constituent fibers of the
geotextile, or
Specific gravity of the polymeric feed stock
Definition
Ratio of materials unit volume weight (without any
voids) to that of distilled, de-aired water at 4C
Caution
Specific gravity of some polymers are less than 1
Care must be taken to use such polymers in
underwater conditions (e.g. river back protection)
These polymers can float in water
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 98

Mass per Unit Area (ASTM D5261 and ISO 9864)
Frequently specified incorrectly as weight of geotextile
Provided in units of g/m2 or even inversely asm2/g
Typical values: 150-750 g/m2 (common), >2000 g/m2 (specific)
Catch point
Mass of the geotextile to be measured under zero tension
Fabric cost is directly proportional to this parameter
Thickness (ASTM D1599 and ISO 9863)

Distance between the upper and lower surface of the fabric measured at
a specified pressure
ASTM suggests a pressure of 2 kPa
ISO allows the specifiers to select the pressure
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 99

Stiffness or Flexibility (ASTM D1388
and D5732)
NOT to be confused with the Modulus of
geotextile
Measure of interaction between the geotextile
mass and its bending stiffness
In what manner the geotextile bends
gravitationally under its own weight
Cantilever Bending Tester
25mm wide geotextile strip is slid out
longitudinally over a edge support as a cantilever
Length of overhang is measured when the tip of
geotextile bends and makes and angle of 41.5
with the horizontal (l) (Sinohara and Musha,
Cantilever Bending Tester
1980) 3

l M
Stiffness = . ( mg cm ) Video
2 A
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 100

Stiffness or Flexibility (ASTM D1388 and D5732)
Indicative of the geotextiles inherent capability of providing a suitable
working surface for installation
High stiffness of geotextile is required when being placed on soft soils
Haliburton et al. (1980)
Related the property with various soil subgrade strength
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 101
Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Mechanical properties
Resistance of geotextile to tensile stresses
mobilized from applied loads and/or
installation conditions
Tests performed solely on geotextiles Index
or In-isolation tests
Tests associated with a standard or site-specific
soil Performance tests
Compressibility
Ratio of thickness of the geotextile at varied
applied normal stress
Generally low for most geotextiles
Important parameter for choosing geotextiles
which convey liquid within the plane of their
structure
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 102

Tensile Strength
Maximum tensile stress that the test specimen
can sustain at the point of its failure
Testing procedure
Hold the geotextile in a set of vice/clamps
Place it in the CRE (Constant rate of extension)
testing machine
Stretch the geotextile until it fails
Grab Tensile Strength

Video (00.25)
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 103

Tensile Strength
CRE tests
Measure load-deformation to generate the stress-strain curve
Stress measured as force/unit width
To get conventional stress unit, the obtained value is to be divided by the thickness of
the geotextile
Thickness of geotextile varied during the entire extension test
Strain is calculated as the deformation over the original length of specimen
Values calculated
Maximum tensile stress, referred as strength of geotextile
Strain at failure, referred as maximum elongation or elongation of geotextile
Toughness, referred as work done per unit volume before failure
Area under the stress-strain curve
Modulus of elasticity
Slope of the stress-strain curve
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 104

Tensile Strength
Curve D
Max. tensile stress (Tmax) = 23 kN/m
Thickness at failure (tf) = 0.33 mm
max = Tmax / t f = 69.7 MPa
Elongation at failure (f) = 69%

Toughness (U) (approximate area under
the stress-strain curve of D)
( )
U = ( 0.5 ) (Tmax ) f = 7.9kN / m
For failure thickness of 0.33mm
( 0.5 ) (Tmax ) ( f )
U= = 24 MPa
tf
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 105

Tensile Strength
Modulus of elasticity
Initial tangent modulus To be used where the stress-
strain curve shows a reasonably linear variation in the
initial portion of the curve (Curves A, B, C, D)
T 12
ET = = = 364 MPa ( Curve D )
f t f 0.1 0.33 /1000
Offset tangent modulus To be used when initial slope
is very low
Shift the y-axis to the right at the point where the back-
projection of the major linear part of the stress-strain
curve meets the x-axis
20
EOT = = 122 MPa ( Curve E )
( 0.46 0.2 ) 0.63 /1000
Secant modulus Modulus corresponding to a
particular strain 10.5
ES10 = = 318 MPa ( Curve D ) ES 20 , ES 35
0.1 0.33 /1000
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 106

Tensile Strength
Test Specimen size (ASTM D1682, D751, D4632,
D4595, ISO 10319)
Grab tensile test (ASTM D4632)
Most commonly used
100 mm wide sample clamped at central by 25 mm vices
Narrow Strip Test (ASTM D751)
For R&D Use minimum amount of geotextile
25-50 mm wide sample
Wide-width (200mm) and Very wide-width (1000 mm)
samples
Especially for non-woven geotextiles
Narrow strips have severe Poisson ratio effect under large
stresses
Get roped up to result in artificially large magnitudes
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 107

Tensile Strength
Grip types
Depends upon the tensile strength of the geotextile being
tested
Standard clamping For tensile strength <50 kN/m
With higher tensile strength, slippage occurs in the conventional
grip and stress concentration at the face of the grip leading to
erroneous results
Special clamping For tensile strength > 50 kN/m and
< 90 kN/m
Wedge Grips For high tensile strengths < 180 kN/m
At higher tensile strengths, failure occurs at the wedges of the
upper or lower vices
Roller/Capstan grips Tensile strength > 180 kN/m
Elongation cannot be read directly from the movement of the
vice
Have to LVDT, laser sensor or infrared sensor
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 108

Confined Tensile Strength (McGown
et al., 1982, 1986)
Tensile strength of the geotextile with
lateral confinement
As it will be eventually used in the actual
condition
Geotextile test specimen is sandwiched
between lubricated membranes and thin
soil layers pressurized by rubber bellows
Confinement pressure in the bellows
simulates in-situ pressure
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 109

Seam Strength (ASTM D4884, ISO 13426)
Strength of joints in the geotextile sheets or rolls
for the purpose of transferring the tensile stress
Common methods of seaming
Sewing
Application of spray adhesives
Requirements of the seam strength test specimen
The seam specimen should be 200mm wide
Ultimate load is carried by 200 wide seam (in kN/m)
Rate of extension of seam < 10%/min
Elongation of seam is not measured
Only tensile strength is measured
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 110

Seam Strength (ASTM D4884, ISO
13426)
Sewn seam strength efficiency
Tseam
E (%) = 100
Tgeotextile
Tseam Wide-width seam strength
Tgeotextile Wide width geotextile strength
(unseamed)
For higher tensile strength geotextiles, the
efficiency of the sewn seam strength
significantly decreases
Poorly sewn seams are very incapable of
transferring the stresses
Requires different other types of seaming
techniques such as heat-bonding or epoxy-
resin bonding
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 111

Fatigue Strength
Ability of geotextile to withstand repetitive loading before undergoing
failure
Wide-width strip geotextiles are stressed longitudinally at a constant rate of
extension to a predetermined load and then again back to zero load (or any
lower load)
Cycling of load is repeated until failure occurs
Resulting cyclic stress-strain generates hysteresis loops
Helps to calculate the cyclic shear modulus after a subsequent number of load
cycles
Number of load cycles required for the failure of geotextile is also recorded
The failure load is converted to stress and is expressed as a fraction of the
static strength of the geotextile
Lower the stress level, larger number of load cycles will be required for failure of
the geotextile
Simulates the seismic or railroad loadings, waves or tidal loadings
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 112

Fatigue Strength
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 113
Reinforced Soil Walls

Application
Mostly as retaining structures
Advantages over conventional type of walls
More economical if wall heights are large and subsoil is poor
Can be rapidly constructed
Require simple equipment for construction
Flexible structures
Soil forms bulk of their volume
Greater ability to withstand differential settlement than the rigid retaining walls
Large base-to-height ratio
Foundation stress distribution s nearly uniform
Less stress concentration at the toe
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 114
Stability Analysis
External stability
Assumption
Reinforced soil wall behaves as an integral unit
Behaves as a rigid gravity structure
Conforms to simple laws of statics
Internal stability
Deals with design of reinforcement in regard to its
Length and Cross-section
Against tension failure
Sufficient anchorage length into the stable soil
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 115
External Stability
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 116
Reinforced Soil Wall Schematic

L Length of the L
reinforcement or
width of the wall
Wall is located in the

seismic region
Surcharge on both
wall and the backfill
b2 b1
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 117
Dynamic Increments due to Backfill Soil

Computed as per IS 1893 (1984)
Distribution of the ratio of [(lateral dynamic
increment due to backfill soil only) / (vertical
effective pressure)] with the height of the wall
Additional dynamic thrust or Additional

increment in thrust in dynamic condition due
to backfill soil
1 ( H Hw )
2

2 ( K ad K a ) . . ( H + 2H w )
Pa i = 2 H
2

+ 1 K ' K ' H w 3 H H + . H
2 ( ad a)
H
2 ( w) b2 w

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 118
Dynamic Increments due to Surcharge on Backfill

Computed as per IS 1893 (1984)
Distribution of the ratio of [(lateral dynamic
increment due to surcharge only) / (vertical
effective pressure)] with the height of the wall
Additional dynamic thrust or Additional

increment in thrust in dynamic condition due
to surcharge on backfill soil
H 2 H w2 H w2
Paqi = q ( K ad K a ) + ( K ad K a )
' '
H H
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 119
Sliding Stability
Factor of safety against sliding
Resisting force
Fs =
Sliding force
Static case
(Ww' + Q )
Fs = 2
PTst
Seismic case
(Ww' + Q ) (Ww + Q ) . v
Fs = 1.5
PTst + Pa i + Paqi + (Ww + Q ) h
Coefficient of sliding friction of the base of the wall

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 120
Overturning Stability
Factor of safety against overturning
Resisting moment
Fo =
Sliding moment
Static case
M w' + M q
Fo = 2
M Tst
Seismic case
M w' + M q M swv M sqv

Fo = 1.5
M Tst + M a i + M aqi + M swh + M sqh
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 121
Tilting/Bearing Stability
Static analysis
max =
(W '
w + Q)
+ M Tst .
6
qa
2
L L
min =
(Ww' + Q ) M Tst .
6
> 0 (No tension condition)
2
L L
Seismic analysis
Net moment about the centre of base of wall
M Tn = M Tst + M a i + M aqi + M swh + M sqh
(Ww' + Q ) (Ww + Q ) v
max = + M . 6 1.25q
Tn a
L L2
(Ww' + Q ) (Ww + Q ) v
min = M . 6 > 0 (No tension condition)
Tn
L L2
qa Allowable bearing capacity of foundation soil
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 122
Slip Stability
Slope stability analysis using software
GeoStudio/Plaxis
Static FoS > 1.5
Seismic FoS > 1.2
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 123
Tension Failure
Tensile force (Ti) per m width at a depth hi
Ti = K aw vi 2c1 K aw .S z
vi Maximum vertical pressure intensity
Kaw Coefficient of active earth pressure
obtained using wall properties i.e. 1
Use corresponding expressions Kaw, K'aw, Kadw, and
Kadw similar to Ka, K'a, Kad, K'ad by replacing 2
with 1
Sz Vertical spacing of the reinforcement
Limiting condition of design against

tension failure Ti RT
RT Safe design strength of reinforcement per
unit width
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 124
Design Steps for Stability

During checking of external stability
Choose a length of the reinforcement (width of the wall) and carry out
the design
Length of the reinforcement can be uniform or varying along the height of the
wall
Check that all the external stability conditions are satisfied
During checking of internal stability

Estimate the vertical spacing of the reinforcement
Spacing can be uniform or varying along the height of the wall
Check that the tensile failure condition is satisfied for all the reinforcement
above and below the water table
Estimation of spacing gives the number of reinforcements to be used in a
cross-section of the wall
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 125
Wedge/Pullout Failure: Static Case

Consider the possibility of inclined
failure surfaces passing through the
wall forming unstable wedges of soil
bounded by
Front face of the wall
Top ground surface
Potential failure plane
Most common critical condition

Failure plane passing through the toe of
the wall
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 126
Vertical and Horizontal Line Loads

Any external applied load should have to accommodated for
the stresses generated a various reinforcement levels due to
load distribution
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 127
Reinforced Soil Beds

Applications
Frame footing resting on reinforced earth slab
Closely spaced footing on weak soil
Isolated footing resting on reinforced earth slab
Storage water tanks resting on reinforced earth slab
Advantages
Increase in bearing capacity
Reduction in differential (tilt) and net foundation settlements
Reducing necessity of deep foundation
Change the type of foundation
Can allow the use of isolated spread footing
beneath closely spaced footing on weak soil
instead of expensive combined or raft footing
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 128
Reinforced Soil Beds

Common findings from several experimental investigations
Ultimate bearing capacity of the footing can be increased by 3-4 times
Settlement/tilt of the footing can be brought down by 30% compared to
the same footing on unreinforced soil
Theoretical analysis (Binquet and Lee, 1975)

Pressure intensity of isolated strip footings resting on reinforced earth
slab for a given settlement
Proposed a mechanistic working hypothesis
Assumptions of significant movement and load transfer
Determination of the maximum tie force (TD)
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 129
Binquet and Lee (1975) Hypothesis

Brief description
Zone I comprising of the footing and zone
of soil mass bounded by the maximum
shear stress planes (xz,max) are assumed
to move down
Results in the outward movement of zone
II
Reinforcements are assumed to undergo a

double right-angled bend at the failure
surface
The tie-force is directed upwards at the
failure surface
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 130
Binquet and Lee (1975) Hypothesis

Brief description
Equilibrium of the soil element
encompassing a reinforcement strip in the
soil zone I is determined
Estimation of the tie force
Tie force is subsequently checked against

the tensile strength (bearing capacity in
rupture) and the frictional resistance
(bearing capacity in pullout) of the strip
embedded in Soil Zone II
Repeated for all the strips and then the

minimum value of bearing capacity and
failure mode is determined
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 131
Bearing Capacity Ratio

Aim of the analysis
Obtain the pressure that can be imposed on the footing resting on
reinforced earth slab corresponding to a given settlement of the same
footing resting on an unreinforced soil
q
pr or BCR =
q0
q0 average contact pressure of footing on unreinforced soil at settlement

q average contact pressure of footing on reinforced soil at same
Pre-requisite of the analysis

Pressure settlement characteristics of the actual footing resting on
unreinforced sand bed
Plate load test
Software simulation
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 132
Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Reinforced Soil Beds

Wide Slab Effect
For the same footing, and for the same
settlement for unreinforced and reinforced
soil beds, critical pressure ratio is used to
estimate the bearing pressure on reinforced
foundations
Implication: The pressure-settlement values
of reinforced soil can be computed only up to
the bearing capacity of unreinforced soil
Experimental investigations show that under
such condition, the bearing capacity of
reinforced foundation is never achieved
qu Bearing capacity of unreinforced soil
qr Bearing pressure of reinforced soil
corresponding to the same settlement at the
bearing capacity of unreinforced soil
qur Bearing capacity of reinforced soil
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 133
Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Reinforced Soil Beds

Deep Footing Effect
Footing sized reinforcement layers beneath
the footing up to a depth DR increases the
bearing capacity effect
Similar to an unreinforced sand bed loaded
with a rigid deep footing having an
embedment depth of Df = DR
D f = DR 1.0 B
Ultimate bearing capacity considering the

deep footing effect
qur = qr + DR N q = qu . pr + DR N q
DR Depth of lowest layer of reinforcement

withing 1.0B (B Width of the footing)
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 134
Soil Nailing
Soil Nailing Video Solotrat

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 135
Coverage
Concepts and Mechanism of reinforced earth
Sawicki
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 136
Coverage
Geosynthetics
Composition, manufacture, functions, testing and applications in
reinforced earth
Shukla, Yin
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 137
Coverage
Reinforced retaining walls
Clayton, Militsky, Woods

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 138
Coverage
Reinforced embankments
Jones
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 139
Coverage
Reinforced foundation beds
Sivakumar Babu
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 140
Coverage
Reinforced pavement and railway subgrades
Jewell
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 141
Coverage
Design for separation, filtration, drainage of reinforced soil
structures
Koerner
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 142
Coverage
Case histories and applications
Ling, Leschinstky, Tatsuoka

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 143
Coverage
Fiber reinforced soil
Swami Saran
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 144
Coverage
Rock Bolting
Stillborg
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 145
Coverage
Soil nailing
Lazarte, Lazarte
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 146
Coverage
Earth anchors
Das, Shukla
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 147
Thank You for Patient Hearing

Arindam Dey, RSS, Qip-Stc Gepd 2014

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QIP-Short Term Course

Reinforced Soil Structures

Reinforced retaining walls

Reinforced Soil Structures

Reinforced foundation beds

Reinforced pavement and

Reinforced Soil Structures

Reinforced Soil Structures

Soil nailing Earth anchors

Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Soil Reinforcement: Modern Day Construction

Soil Reinforcement: Modern Day Construction

Soil Reinforcement: Reinvention

Vidal, H. (1966) La Terre Armee Annuls de Institue Technique du

Soil Reinforcement: Novel Charactertistics

Flexible nature of reinforced earth mass

Permits construction of geotechnical structures on poor and

Portrayal of Basic Mechanism

Portrayal of Basic Mechanism

Components of Reinforced Soil

Soil or Fill Facing

Soil or Fill Matrix

Soil or Fill Matrix

Soils having higher void ratio are well drained Advantage?

Behavior is mostly elastic under working load conditions Advantage?

Non-corrosive to reinforcing materials

Soil or Fill Matrix

No frictional component in the soil Disadvantage?

Behavior is elasto-plastic or plastic Disadvantage?

Corrosive towards reinforcing materials

Soil or Fill Matrix

Minimum specification for the fill soil (US DOT, 1978)

Strength Characteristics: Reinforced Earth

Loaded to failure under different confining

Reinforcement layers at vertical spacing Sz b

Vertical stress of magnitude 1 is applied D C

Reinforcement Failure: Rupture

1 = 3 N + 2c N Rupture failure of reinforcement

Reinforcement Failure: Sliding/Slippage

Angle of internal friction of the

Mohrs Circle Representation

Slippage Failure Rupture Failure

Determine the strength properties

Unreinforced Soil 2 = 30.2

Soil-Reinforcement Interface Friction

Tests to determine soil-reinforcement interface friction

Sliding Shear Test

Sliding Shear Test and Interface Friction

Sliding Shear Test and Interface Friction

Experiment with strip reinforcement

Pullout Test and Pullout Friction

Smooth vs. Ribbed Reinforcement

RDFS / Ply soil

Soil mixed with Tamarisk branches

Notable properties of RDFS

Strength of RDFS: General Findings

Strength of RDFS: Predictive Models

Strength of RDFS: Predictive Models

Strength of RDFS: Predictive Models